A new version of Java (v7.07) was released today that fixes numerous security holes – be sure to update right away. If you don't have a little orange square in the systray, go to Control Panel, Java, and under the update tab there should be an 'Update Now' button.

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  • Own a home or small business? We're really excited about a new service we'll be offering soon – online advertising training and consulting. Yellow pages? What's that? Reach your audience directly instead of hoping the 'right' potential customers see your ad. Ensure it. In partnership with Google we'll be helping our clients Engage with their customers. Like if you advertise online and share with your small biz colleagues!

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  • This is a *big* deal. Unpatched 'zero-day' vulnerabilities mean you are vulnerable to attack even if all of your applications are up to date. When Oracle releases a new version of Java, be sure you install it ASAP. Also consider using Google Chrome which will always ask permission to run Java when a site (including infected ones) wants to access Java. You should only say 'yes' when you *know* that site uses Java for some type of interactive feature. Otherwise, decline the request. Other browsers don't do this.


    Unpatched Java exploit spreads like wildfire
    nakedsecurity.sophos.com
    A new zero-day vulnerability in Java discovered on a Chinese web server being used in a targeted attack is being quickly adopted by online criminals.

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  • This is absolutely true and I am guilty of it myself. Multi word passwords with spaces are SO much more secure than random characters. Unfortunately WAY too many services still disallow spaces in passwords. Battery Horse Staple Correct! (apologies to XKCD)


    Your Clever Password Tricks Aren't Protecting You from Today's Hackers
    lifehac.kr
    Security breaches happen so often nowadays, you're probably sick of hearing about them and all the ways you should beef up your accounts. Even if you feel you've heard it all already, though, unfortunately, today's password-cracking tools are more advanced and cut through the clever password tricks….

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  • FINALLY!!!! If you have multiple Google accounts (say for work and personal use), you can FINALLY have both logged in – even have two different GMail accounts open in different Chrome tabs. This is SO overdue. Like if you plan to try using this and share with your friends who use GMail!


    Google's Updated Sign-In Page Makes Using Multiple Accounts A Lot Easier
    lifehacker.com
    If you have more than one Google account, whether it's standard or through Google Apps, you know that using more than one at a time isn't a pleasure. Thanks to a recent update, however, Google is making concurrent logins much easier.

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  • Lifehacker puts together some great lists of free or inexpensive applications for various devices and roles. Be sure to check this out if you have a student heading off to school this month. And if you want to make sure their laptop is performing at it's best, bring it by for a tuneup! Share with all your friends who may have students heading to college soon!


    The Lifehacker Pack for Students
    lifehacker.com
    Every year we put together a list of our Lifehacker App packs for each operating system. In the spirit of those lists we figured it was time to put together a list for students getting ready for school.

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  • This is just unreal. What would you do if you laptop, phone, and most key accounts just went dead? Through a clever social engineering hack – someone used two companies support system in concert to gain access to this guy's entire life. The key take away is this – if you use GMail or PayPal or Facebook and aren't using two-factor authentication – you need to enable it. ESPECIALLY email – which is your lifeline and the key to resetting passwords across your life. Other services that don't support two factor auth… reconsider using them if they're that important. And remote wipe is a GREAT feature, but this outlines how dangerous it is. Read the account (linekd in the article) of how this all went down and how one by one this guys devices just suddenly stopped working.


    Apple and Amazon Know About a Massive Hack Exploit—And Have Done Nothing (Updated)
    gizmo.do
    Gizmodo alumnus Mat Honan got hacked this weekend. It was bad. But that's not the worst part. Worse is that Apple knows exactly how easy this is, and hasn't done a thing to stop it.

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  • Lifehacker is on a roll today – Solid State Drives are a fantastic upgrade for systems running Windows Vista or 7. They can provide an amazing boost in speed for booting and launching of applications. We recently constructed a system for a software developer that utilized a SSD that would be completely booted, all startup programs running, and ready for use in *10 seconds* from when you pressed the power button. Doing an upgrade can sometimes be tricky, so let us know if you need help or want us to do it for you!


    The Complete Guide to Solid-State Drives
    lifehacker.com
    Adding a solid-state drive (SSD) to your computer is simply the best upgrade at your disposal, capable of speeding up your computer in ways you hadn't thought possible.

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  • Some good tips for boosting WiFi. WDS and WiFi repeaters work great for large homes. Stop by and we can show you how it all works!


    Top 10 Ways to Boost Your Home Wi-Fi
    lifehacker.com
    Wi-Fi is one of the most useful and important parts of using a computer, and yet it's also one of the most frustrating. If you're plagued by slow speeds, bad reception, and other Wi-Fi issues, here are 10 ways you can power up the Wi-Fi in your home.

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  • Please make sure if you have the little orange 'New version of Java is available' icon in your system tray that you upgrade ASAP! We've seen a few computers come in today with the 'Live Security Platinum' scare ware/trojan and it's getting in via old versions of Java and the anti-virus programs aren't catching it yet (its very new).

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  • Are you into 3D gaming? Are you tired of excessive fan noise from your video card or the amount of space it takes up in your case? Do you have a smaller computer you wish you could fit a better full size video card into? Now ZOTAC has a solution – a fanless, short GeForce GT640 video card.


    ZOTAC GeForce GT 640 ZONE Edition

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  • Web of Trust is a great tool to run in your web browser. It can alert you to suspicious links before (or after) you click them) I usually change the default settings so only the warning circles show up (otherwise they show up everywhere), but it can be a great tool for Facebook, Google Searches, and more.


    Wall Photos
    Are you a Chrome user? Have you noticed our new warning screen? Its fancier look isn't the only improvement. We also added a "Go back" button upon popular request. What do you think?

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  • It's so easy to overlook how vulnerable small businesses are if something like this were to happen. I'm amazed this company was able to claw the money back – foreign wire transfers almost always are final within 24-48 hours. Clearly he had contacts and the thieves seemed to use US destinations for the transfers. This business owner even had a SecureID token to provide two factor authentication (vs just a simple password or password with a security question) and they still got in. If you computer starts acting odd and you do ANY online banking with it – get it checked out ASAP


    Cybercrooks preying on small businesses
    nakedsecurity.sophos.com
    Small businesses might think they are little enough to escape cybercrooks' attention, but they're increasingly wrong.

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  • Just… STUNNED. You can thank Apple for this, who dropped their upgrade pricing to $30. Windows upgrades have NEVER been this cheap. There will be no excuse to stay on Windows XP if your hardware can handle Win 8. I suspect this is one way MSFT hopes to finally get people to give up Win XP. If you're not comfortable doing this update on your own, we'll be happy to do it for you here at IT Xpress! Like if you plan to upgrade once Windows 8 comes out!


    Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99
    windowsteamblog.com
    The Windows Blog is Microsoft's Official Blog for the Windows Operating System.

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  • So when you're installing a windows update and you get 'Catastrophic Failure', that's a bad sign, right? 🙂 I've seen all sorts of crazy error messages trying to update Windows, but that's a new one! Time to run the Windows Update Readiness Tool!

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